ARLINGTON, Va.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--The majority of citizens surveyed by Accenture
in seven countries (69 percent) say the increased use of digital
technologies could improve the justice system in their countries. In
contrast, the vast majority (87 percent) of those respondents who have
interacted with the justice system prior to the survey say they have not
experienced any benefits from these technologies as they were not
available to them during their interaction.

“The survey findings
demonstrate how important it is for justice agencies to continue to
adopt new digital technologies and tools that can meet the needs of
citizens, better manage administrative processes and reduce costs.”

Survey respondents – representing Australia, France, Germany, Italy,
Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States – also believe new
digital technologies have the potential to both reduce the processing
times of court cases (63 percent) and reduce administrative costs (62
percent). Additionally, 82 percent of citizens said they would be
willing to interact with their justice agency using digital technologies
either instead of, or in addition to, face-to-face contact. According to
the survey, those willing to interact with their justice system via
digital technology were especially receptive to using video conferencing
technology (67 percent), email (62 percent) and online citizen
information portals (59 percent).

“The survey findings show strong support from citizens for technologies
that can make interaction with their justice systems more convenient and
efficient, while also reducing case processing times and administrative
costs,” said James
Slessor, who leads Accenture’s global public
safety business. “Citizens want increased access to public services
and are more inclined to use digital channels to conduct routine
government business and manage their interactions with government
agencies.”

Of the respondents who had previously interacted with their justice
system, a majority (61 percent) were satisfied with their overall
experience. However, nearly three-fourths (74 percent) believe the speed
and efficiency of the courts could be improved and more than half (61
percent) of those surveyed say they want improved communication of case
progress and increased clarity on court processes.

“Justice agencies across the world face considerable challenges as they
tackle significant workloads while seeking to reduce operating costs,
better manage information and human resources and deliver an improved
experience to the citizen,” Slessor said. “The survey findings
demonstrate how important it is for justice agencies to continue to
adopt new digital technologies and tools that can meet the needs of
citizens, better manage administrative processes and reduce costs.”

U.S. Findings

More than half (56 percent) of U.S. respondents say they have had
personal interaction with a justice agency, the highest percentage of
respondents in any of the countries represented in the survey.
Additionally:

A majority of U.S. respondents (70 percent) who have had interacted
with the justice system were satisfied with their experience. This was
the second highest satisfaction rate among citizens in the seven
countries studied.

More than half of those surveyed in the United States believe digital
technology has the potential to speed up case outcomes (53 percent),
reduce administrative costs (56 percent) and make the U.S. justice
system more convenient (57 percent).

However, the majority of U.S. respondents who have interacted with the
justice system to date (85 percent) say they have not experienced any
benefits from digital technologies during those interactions.

A majority of U.S. citizens who say they are willing to interact with
the justice system via digital technology are willing to do so using
video conferencing technologies (66 percent) email (59 percent) and
online citizen information portals(57 percent).

Country Comparisons

The majority of U.K. citizens (75 percent) who have interacted with
their justice agency were satisfied with the service they received,
which was the highest satisfaction rate across all markets studied.
This contrasts with Italy, where less than half (35 percent) of
Italian respondents say they were satisfied with the service they
received.

Respondents from Italy were most confident that digital technologies
have the potential to reduce case processing times (75 percent) and
public costs (69 percent). This contrasts with the U.K., where only
half (50 percent) of respondents believe new technologies can reduce
case processing times and reduce personal costs for the individuals
involved.

Of those willing to interact with the justice system via digital
technology, more than three-fourths of respondents from Spain (78
percent) would be willing to do so using video-conferencing. This
contrasts with just over half of respondents from France (55 percent)
and Germany (55 percent).

Accenture surveyed a total of 3,503 citizens across the United States,
United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and Australia from April
12th to April 28th, 2014 via an online
quantitative survey. The research was fielded by Penn Schoen Berland
(PSB) to capture attitudes around the use of digital technology in the
justice system across a range of different case types in each
country. The survey has a margin of error of ±1.66 percentage points at
the global level and ±4.38 percentage points at the individual country
level (N=approximately 500 each).

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company, with more than 305,000 people serving clients in
more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience,
comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions,
and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies,
Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance
businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of
US$30.0 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home page
is www.accenture.com